2,000 children detained by Russia have already returned to Ukraine, while President Zelenskyi claims that thousands more remain in captivity and are subjected to torture and brainwashing. The state, NGOs and partners help them to return.
2,000 children detained by Russia have already returned to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on the X network on Tuesday, adding that Moscow is detaining thousands more. According to him, the state, civil organizations and international partners help with the return of minors to their homes. TASR informs about it.
Ukrainian children returned to the territory of their homeland as part of the humanitarian program Bring Kids Back UA, which was initiated by Zelensky in 2023. The channel of the program on the X network reported on Monday that a group of six children managed to save themselves most recently. Kiev accuses Moscow of subjecting them to interrogation, torture and brainwashing.
Thousands are still not at home
“The road ahead is still long and difficult. Thousands of Ukrainian children are still detained by Russia and every day they become victims of its crimes. But we will not stop until every Ukrainian child returns home,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Wednesday on X.
Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has identified more than 19,500 children it says have been forcibly deported to Russia, Belarus or Russian-occupied territories. Ukraine considers these abductions to be genocide, as defined by the UN Convention. In its defense, Moscow states that by removing the children it protected them from the fighting.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova on suspicion of war crimes in connection with the abduction of Ukrainian children. Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and has rejected the charges.
